The lights of Times Square flash all around you, a dazzling blur of colors reflecting off the endless sea of people. It’s loud, chaotic, alive. You breathe it all in, exhilarated. This isn’t an everyday thing for you—coming to New York. And that’s exactly why you insisted on dragging Chloe and Ava here tonight, even though it meant pushing through crowds so dense you could barely move.

“Oh my God, this lighting is insane!” Ava gasps, angling her phone for another selfie.

“Okay, one more,” Chloe says, rolling her eyes but grinning.

You squeeze between them, all three of you laughing as the camera clicks. You don’t even care how many photos you’ve already taken—you’ll probably take a hundred more.

Then, just as you step back, someone else steps forward.

“Whoa—careful there,” a deep, amused voice says as you almost collide.

You look up—way up—into a face that’s practically out of a movie. He’s tall, broad-shouldered, and effortlessly handsome. His dark hair is slightly tousled, his sharp eyes flickering with amusement. And that smile—cocky, but not too much. Just enough to make you wonder if he always looks this sure of himself.

“Didn’t mean to get in your way,” he adds, but there’s a teasing lilt to his voice, like he’s not really sorry at all.

“Then maybe you should watch where you’re going,” you shoot back before you can stop yourself.

His grin widens. “Maybe you should.”

Behind him, his two friends exchange knowing looks. One, a little shorter but just as good-looking, nudges him. “Noah, don’t scare her off.”

Noah. The name fits.

Ava and Chloe glance between you and him, their expressions a mix of curiosity and suppressed smirks.

“Well, since we’re all standing here in the middle of the busiest place on Earth,” Noah says, “maybe we should at least introduce ourselves. You’re…?”

You hesitate for half a second before answering.

And just like that, the night takes an unexpected turn.